NBA notebook: Hardaways have more history now

Saturday

Jun 29, 2013 at 12:01 AMJun 29, 2013 at 10:29 PM

Tim Hardaway Jr. was sitting across from the Miami bench to watch one of the toughest blows inHeat history.

Allan Houston’s go-ahead shot with 0.8 seconds left in the deciding Game 5 of a 1999 first-round series is one of the lasting highlights of the fierce playoff rivalry the Knicks had with the Heat in the late 1990s. Hardaway’s father starred for Miami, works for the Heat now, and on Friday both were reminded again of that shot. A picture of it hangs in the younger Hardaway’s new basketball home. The Knicks took him with the No. 24 pick in the NBA draft.

"It’s very ironic," his father said at the Knicks’ practice facility. "The years that I played and the rivalry that we had, now it’s coming full circle. My son is going to play for the Knicks. I’m very happy for him. It’s not about me, it’s about him, and it’s about him being happy now and I’m happy for him."

Tim Hardaway Jr. was sitting across from the Miami bench to watch one of the toughest blows inHeat history.

Allan Houston’s go-ahead shot with 0.8 seconds left in the deciding Game 5 of a 1999 first-round series is one of the lasting highlights of the fierce playoff rivalry the Knicks had with the Heat in the late 1990s. Hardaway’s father starred for Miami, works for the Heat now, and on Friday both were reminded again of that shot. A picture of it hangs in the younger Hardaway’s new basketball home. The Knicks took him with the No. 24 pick in the NBA draft.

"It’s very ironic," his father said at the Knicks’ practice facility. "The years that I played and the rivalry that we had, now it’s coming full circle. My son is going to play for the Knicks. I’m very happy for him. It’s not about me, it’s about him, and it’s about him being happy now and I’m happy for him."

The elder Hardaway was with the Heat when they played the Knicks in four straight postseasons from 1997-00. His name hangs from the rafters in Miami, and he works for the team as a community liaison and scout.

Wearing a blue dress shirt to match New York’s colors, his son seemed comfortable on the other side.

"It’s ironic but not awkward at all," Hardaway Jr. said. "He’s happy for me whatever team I went to and that’s what a father should do. He should be happy for his son, whatever team it is, whether it’s a rivalry or not. So it’s a great opportunity."

The family was in a Miami restaurant Thursday to watch the draft, and a pick that left his father with a decision to make.

"When they play against us, I don’t know what I’m going to do," the poppa Hardaway said. "That question has been asked many, many, many times, and I don’t know."

EXODUS: It's official, the Celtics are rebuilding.

Boston agreed to the terms of a deal that sends Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn for a package of draft picks and players. Garnett is a future Hall of Famer, but it’s Pierce’s departure that signals the end of an era for the NBA’s most-decorated franchise.

The longest-tenured member of the Celts, Pierce is the team’s captain and a 10-time All-Star. He is the second-leading scorer in the team history, and also is in Boston’s top seven in rebounds, assists, steals, games and minutes played.

"(It’s) sort of sad. You hate to see it," said Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, who was an assistant on the Celtics 2008 title team. "But that’s the NBA. It’s constant change, and you have to be ready to adapt. I think what Paul Pierce did for that franchise and Kevin — I think’s it’s good for them. They have an opportunity to continue on.

"Good for the Celtics, where they can start their rebuilding."

L.A. DWIGHT: The Lakers have put up billboards around Los Angeles with a large photo of Dwight Howard and the word "Stay."

"The message is simple: we care about you and we want you to stay," general manager Mitch Kupchak said Thursday at the draft.

Los Angeles can offer the center a maximum of $118 million over five seasons, and other teams can offer $88 million over four years.

Kupchak said any talk of Howard’s dissatisfaction with coach Mike D’Antoni or his game plan was simply a byproduct of a season that ended with a first-round playoff exit. "At the end of a losing season, nobody’s happy," Kupchak said. "It’s as simple as that."

AROUND THE RIM: As expected, Ray Allen exercised his $3.2 million player option to remain with the Heat. He turns 38 next month, yet still played in 102 games for Miami. ... Former Nets coach Lawrence Frank will return to the team as an assistant under new coach Jason Kidd. Frank is the franchise’s career leader in victories, going 225-241 in parts of seven seasons, when Kidd was his point guard.

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